The USS Juneau, a sunken US military ship during World War II, was discovered. Why did the five Sullivan brothers serve on the ship together and die together?

At 11 a.m. on November 13, 1942, during the Battle of Guadalcanal on the Pacific Theater, an American cruiser named "Juno" was on fire and was hit by a Japanese submarine. The launched torpedo was torn into two pieces and sank in the blood-soaked deep sea. Among the crew members who died, there were five brothers from the same family, the famous "Sullivan Brothers". Five brothers died on the battlefield together, which is undoubtedly "the greatest trauma a family has suffered in the history of war." So why did the Sullivan brothers serve on the same ship?

Thomas Sullivan was a first-generation Irish immigrant in the United States. He settled in Waterloo, Iowa, with his lover Aletta Sullivan. They had five sons in one marriage, namely Joseph, Francis, Abbott, Madison and George Sullivan. War swept through every family like a flood, and Thomas's family was not immune. During the Pearl Harbor attack, a friend of the Sullivan brothers was unfortunately killed. In grief and resentment, the five brothers resolutely joined the Navy.

After joining the military, the five brothers requested to serve on the same ship. At that time, the U.S. Navy did not support brothers serving on the same ship in principle, but there were no relevant regulations that explicitly prohibited such service arrangements. After the five brothers strongly requested and appealed to the Navy Department, the Navy Department directly issued an order to make an exception and arranged for them to serve on a brand-new anti-aircraft cruiser "Juno".

This became a good talk in various American media at the time, and became a symbolic example of the American people defending their country and resisting the enemy. The famous saying of the five Sullivan brothers, "WE STICK TOGETHER!" has also become an iconic battle cry. On the night of November 13, 1942, in another battle between the United States and Japan around a deserted island airport, the "Juno" was severely damaged by a torpedo launched by the Japanese "Tianjin Wind" at the beginning of the battle. The hull tilted severely and the smoke was thick. Amidst the fierce fire and hail of bullets, the entire crew of "Juno" worked hard to make repairs while continuing to fight.

At 11 a.m., the Japanese submarine "I-26" fired three torpedoes at "Juno", one of which hit, giving "Juno" a fatal blow and eventually perished in the sea. About 115 people escaped when the battleship sank, but when the rescue ship arrived, there were only 14 survivors, and all five Sullivans were not among them.

The U.S. government highly affirmed and promoted the loyalty, trustworthiness and fearless self-sacrifice of the Sullivan brothers, and named a newly commissioned destroyer the "Sullivan Brothers". It is still used on U.S. Navy ships today. The Sullivan brothers incident also gave birth to the "Single Survivor Policy" in the United States. The legislation stipulates that whether during military recruitment or combat operations, each family must be able to retain members.